OSRAM Showcases Innovation at Boston TechJam

Massachusetts has one of the largest concentrations of entrepreneurs, emerging and leading tech companies, top-tier academic institutions and students, world-class venture capitalists, incubators, and an eco-system of supporting service providers in the world. Boston TechJam is a showcase and accelerator for new ideas and world-class innovations coming out of the Boston, MA region. The annual event kicks off the summer and brings everyone in the tech ecosystem together to exchange ideas and celebrate the region’s technology, entrepreneurship and culture. Music, food trucks, local brews and ciders, and cool technology were center stage on June 14th on Boston’s City Hall Plaza.

This was OSRAM’s first time participating at Boston TechJam.

“OSRAM is in mid-transformation – people have known us for many years as a light bulb or headlight company, especially when they hear we’re technically OSRAM Sylvania,” said Lori Brock, Head of Innovation, OSRAM Americas Region. “But as we’ve shifted away from traditional lighting and manufacturing, we are transforming into a tech company that uses visible and invisible light in a lot of very cool and new ways. From Human Centric Lighting (HCL) that improves quality of life, to smart horticultural lighting for urban locations and vertical farms, to autonomous driving, entertainment and architectural lighting, and a lot more.”

OSRAM exhibited the latest in HCL technology. Human-centric lighting is a form of biomimicry – an approach to solving problems by emulating nature’s patterns and strategies. HCL applies light characteristics such as color, intensity and timing to artificial lighting to mimic natural light.

Although human centric lighting takes many forms, the application highlighted during the event was a prototype version of HCL eyewear that attendees were able to try out. These HCL glasses were used by the German ski team as they competed in the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang. The ski team came in second, collecting 31 medals – 14 gold, 10 silver, and 7 bronze. Additionally, the BMW Motorsport team has used the glasses during the 24-hour races in Nürburgring, Germany (2017) and Le Mans, France (2018).

Boston TechJam attendees were able to see how biologically effective light can benefit athletes, travelers and others by replicating various levels of daylight in an effort to provide our bodies with light of varying color temperatures and intensities, depending on the desired outcome. This is particularly beneficial to help combat jet lag, and to help athletes, who are competing at off hours, “trick” their bodies into thinking it is morning or mid-afternoon, when they are at peak performance.

OSRAM also had 3-D goggles on hand so that attendees could check out a 360 video of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, which was retrofitted with thousands of OSRAM LEDs to better highlight the architecture and artwork in one of Italy’s most historic and beautiful locations.

The HCL applications discussed in this post helped athletes perform at their best. Learn how four different organizations are customizing light to help their employees perform at their best by improving comfort, productivity and safety in the workspace.